[japkrap]

It sounded like there was some interest in the T-99 LMG maintenance & cleaning kits so for everyone's reference I thought I'd post some photos and brief descriptions for each...

1) Both the maintenance & cleaning kits housed inside their canvas belt pouches.
2) The maintenance kits leather parts wallet removed from its pouch.
3) Wallet opened up to display all components secured in their proper locations.
4) All components removed from the wallet, from L to R we have an aluminum headed hammer which when used with the next item a tapered drift punch assists in the removal of all the pins and split pin type fasteners, next is a pair of serrated tweezers or tongs that I assume would help in the handling of the smaller parts, next is a dual headed combination tool, the tapered end is used for the removal of a dud cartridge from the chamber, the opposite end with the twisted pointed wire is a tool for removing & replacing the extractor assemblies, next is a standard folding 2 ended screwdriver, next is a 7.7mm broken shell extractor which would be used to remove whats left of a cartridge casing that had it's primer pocket end torn off, next is a 4 section cleaning rod which when assembled is threaded on both ends, the smaller diameter thread accepts the bore cleaning tools (jag & brush), the opposite end has a larger diameter thread that accepts the small carbon scraper tip and also the large cleaning brush both of which are used to clean the gas tube, next is a small combination wrench, the large end is for removing or securing the barrel wedge nut while the smaller end is for removing or securing the small nut that secures the trigger groups cross bolt assembly, next is a complete spare bolt assembly and finally we have a spare parts pouch with it's contents displayed showing 3 firing pins, 6 extractors, 2 firing pin locks and the springs that accompany these parts.
5) The cleaning kit with is rectangular steel can removed.
6) All the kits components removed from their storage can, from L to R we have the aluminum oil bottle, gas tube brush, bore brush, jag, small crevice cleaning tool, firing pin channel cleaning tool which inserts into the hole at the real of the bolt, the guns flash hider which has nothing to do with cleaning the gun however fits into the compartment perfectly and is shown in the kit in the 99's manual and finally a set of 5 barrel spacing shims which are 1mm, 1.1mm, 1.2mm, 1.3mm & 1.4mm thick. Also, it should be noted that the shim set is a replica set offered by Jim Langley (Garfield's Dad here on the boards), originals are pretty much non existent.

-Rick

 

[arisakadogs]

Great post Rick. Pretty well explains it all.
Mucho Thanky!

 

[BIG ED]

Rick,
Is the spare bolt numbered? Or is it a sterile bolt used as a spare?

 

[japkrap]

My pleasure guys,

I'm finding the accessories are just as much fun to collect as the guns themselves.

These kits were issued with each gun so the bolt was an extra number matched part for the gun it was issued with.

Another interesting side note on this kit is that it is later production due to the aluminum headed hammer, the cast iron barrel removal wrench & the coarse weave canvas pouch with pigskin backing, most kits had brass headed hammers, finely machined wrenches & better made pouches with either cowhide or rubberized canvas backing material.

Too cool!

Cheers, Rick

 

[arisakadogs]

Do you know what the writing on the wrenches says?

 

[japkrap]

Nope!

 

[shahps50]

Great post, as usual, this time on the armorers perspective. When I was in the military all 'complex' repairs on the M60 were done by a designated armorer for the entire Company. Was this 'kit' something each small MG crew carried around in the field or some specialized individual(s) that took care of more detailed/ complex repairs for,say, back at Company??

 

[TomP]

Kanji on the three wrenches basically says: Barrel stop spanner. Now as to whether there is actually a kanji phrase like: 銃身止 shown on a breakdown drawing in a Japanese machine gun manual pointing out what a "barrel stop" is, there might be some nuances here not readily apparent, at least by me.


Tom

 

[japkrap]

Nakanishi's book states that "A typical infantry squad consisted of 3 infantry sections & 1 machine gun section (Type-11 - 4 men, Type-96 (& I assume T-99) - 5 men), the total number of soldiers including the section leader (usually a sergeant) consisted of 13 or 14 men" which I assume depends on which LMG they were equipped with.

The book also states that "The machine gun section carried all the heavy equipment whereas ammo would also be carried by men from other sections."

With all that said I would think that the guns were maintained in the field by personnel of the MG section, the guns are are fairly simple in design and are not difficult to maintain or repair provided you have the part you need, if not, depending on where you were you may or may not have had the option of sending it "back to company" for a repair, for instance if you are a Japanese machine gunner stationed in say the Philippines or China you may have had that option however if it was Tarawa, Peleliu or Iwo Jima I think it's safe to say you were on your own with whatever spares you had on hand.

In regards to the wrenches I'm quite sure the opposite side also has kanji characters with the arrow pointing to the smaller end, I'll take some close-up shots of both sides and post them in the next day or so, hopefully we can get a complete translation of both sides...

Thanks to all who chimed in!

Cheers, Rick

 

[japkrap]

Here are the photos of both sides of a T-99 maintenance kit wrench, a translation would be greatly appreciated...

Thank in advance, Rick

 

[Gorgon]

Here are the photos of both sides of a T-99 maintenance kit wrench, a translation would be greatly appreciated...

Thank in advance, Rick

As stated earlier, the six-character side reads "(gun) barrel stop spanner" so "barrel lock wrench".

The seven-character side reads "trigger guard stop spanner" which I think is just stating more or less where this particular nut is located.

Hope this helps...

 

[japkrap]

Yes!

Thank you...

 

[arisakadogs]

The inclusion of a spare bolt is smart. Since the bolt is a solid block of steel not much is likely to happen to it but if the extractor broke, it would take time to fix that. This lets you pop in the new bolt (with the extractor installed) and get back into action. You can fix the extractor later.

What is that at the top end of the cleaning rod on the right??

 

[japhunter]

Carbon scraper

 

[arisakadogs]

Carbon scraper

That makes sense - Thanky! Sure would like to see a close up photo of it

 

[arisakadogs]

Got a new question - since the headspace is adjusted with shims, what are the numbers on the barrel lock nut for?
My guess would be that these would indicate torque settings and the manual probably specifies what number it should be tightened to?

 

[BIG ED]

Got a new question - since the headspace is adjusted with shims, what are the numbers on the barrel lock nut for?
My guess would be that these would indicate torque settings and the manual probably specifies what number it should be tightened to?

I think Rick answered that for me when I got my gun a few years ago. IIRC they are reference marks so once you tighten a barrel into the receiver. Next time you put it back you know where it was tightened to.

 

[japkrap]

Hey Guys,

I hope all is going well with everybody...

Sorry I've been away from Gunboard's for a few days, I just finished resizing about 1200 7.7mm casings never mind shoveling out twice in 2 days! I can't wait to get out of here!

Rob: Yes that is the often missing carbon scraper tip that when at the end of the assembled 4 section cleaning rod allows you to go way down in to the gas tube and remove carbon deposits on the ID of the tube, I will get you a photo in the next day or so... Also, good score on those loose 99 LMG tools!

Rob & Big Ed: Yes, I think that would be a reference number for how tight the nut is (or was), although it seems that no matter how much I tighten them on my guns they always seem to loosen up by the time I'm finished shooting...

Here's the scraper tip photos & my reloading effort...

Cheers, Rick

 

[arisakadogs]

Easy to see why the scraper tip is hard to find. Thanks for the photos & I was happy to pick up those loose tools. I've also added the leather wallet and barrel wrench to that purchase.
So, those numbers are a torque reference. It would be interesting to see what is actually said about them in the manual. My barrel nut always comes loose as well and that's about the only time I ever have a stoppage.

BTW Rick, no snow here and it's been warm enough to wear flip flops

 

[BIG ED]

Rick,
You need to dump that RCBS single stage press. Get a Dillon RL450. Use your dies in it. Prep your cases ahead of time. Then you can knock them right out. Every pull of the handle and out comes a loaded round. I have mine set up for 30.06 because I had a bunch of cases to do. I'm going to change it to .300 blackout soon. Once I get my suppressor approved. I also have a RCBS turret press. I have another set of 7.7 dies in it. All are where they should be. When I do 7.7 cases I just swing the turret wheel over to the next die. One die is a universal decapper. So all cases get decapped in that die. I never have to adjust dies.